Help with muscovy duck babies please?

A muscovy duck layed eggs in my planter in front of my house.
I've been waiting for the eggs to hatch so that I could evict them and work on the plants.
Tonight I was taking out the trash as and found the momma duck dead in front of the planter. Something attacked it.
Now I have 13 irresistible little warm fluff balls to try to keep alive.
I've placed some bedding. A saucer of water and msc bird seed on the bottom of a tote.
Do baby ducks get mouth fed by the mother? Will I need syringes?
Thanks.
I'll be looking for a rescue group in the morning.

No, they eat on their own. I always started mine out on chick starter. I don't know if "they" make a duck starter, but the chick starter is very finely ground chicken food. Plenty of water that they can get into, as they "wash" their mouthful of food in the water and it gets dirty very quickly.

How sad that mama died!

Finely ground Chicken feed will work like yvonne said. I rescued a few muskovies when I lived down there. I had one that nested in front of my house too! In the short term till you can get that they will chow down some earthworms usually. The South Florida Wildlife rehabilitation center will take them too

Awww, so sad momma died. Surprised whatever it was didn't get the babies too. They are so darn cute. Good luck with them until you find someone to take them.

Yvonne G said:

No, they eat on their own. I always started mine out on chick starter. I don't know if "they" make a duck starter, but the chick starter is very finely ground chicken food. Plenty of water that they can get into, as they "wash" their mouthful of food in the water and it gets dirty very quickly.

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They still make chick starter, for baby ducks you want to use the un-medicated starter.

I placed msc bird seed in there. It's tiny. My wife has finches. And something called "egg food". It's like almost a powder.
I have a rehabber I found that I'm going to after work.
Luckily the babies are so damn cute. The adults are horrendous!

ZEROPILOT said:

I placed msc bird seed in there. It's tiny. My wife has finches. And something called "egg food". It's like almost a powder.
I have a rehabber I found that I'm going to after work.
Luckily the babies are so damn cute. The adults are horrendous!

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Ya once they start to develop that pimple face cuteness goes quick!

The last time we were in Las Vegas. I saw Muscovy in the menu of a swanky restaurant.
It doesn't seem like fine dining.
They're horrible animals.

ZEROPILOT said:

The last time we were in Las Vegas. I saw Muscovy in the menu of a swanky restaurant.
It doesn't seem like fine dining.
They're horrible animals.

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Smart little creatures though. We use to have problems leaving the trash can out. They would literally knock over the can rip the bag and have trash everywhere!

They come into my back yard, using my hibiscus bushes as crash landing pads, always breaking branches...To eat bird food dropped at a bird feeder. And CRAP everywhere. They can fly, just not really well.
They also drink condenser water from my central A/C system. Then hang out on the porch....Again, crapping all over it.
They walk across the street in slow motion seemingly mocking you by walking even slower if you honk your horn.
Why am I saving these things?

Toddrickfl1 said:

Smart little creatures though. We use to have problems leaving the trash can out. They would literally knock over the can rip the bag and have trash everywhere!

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Smart?
I'm not sure.
I saw a mother duck hop up a curb and watch 6 (all) of her babies attempt to follow her and one by one fell through the grate of a storm sewer.
My wife made my remove the couple hundred pound grate, but they were gone.
I'm sure it dumped out into a drainage canal....

We have Egyptian "geese" her now in large numbers.
THEY DO show actual intelligence and are fierce about their young.

I'm meeting the rehabber at 6 pm.
Thanks.